After defeating 2019 World Cup quarterfinalists Italy 3-2 on Wednesday in Wellington, South Africa will advance to the last eight of a Women’s World Cup for the first time in their history.
In the following round, the Dutch (1st in Group E; 7 points) will play the South Africans (2nd in Group D; 4 points). The South Africans took an early 1-0 lead after just 11 minutes, went up 2-1 after two goals, and then conceded a second goal that sealed their fate in the 74th minute. However, Thembi Kgatlana gave her team the advantage in overtime by capitalizing on yet another Italian defensive blunder.